COME MY WAY • RODRICK HEFFLEY

forty second chapter

"loaded diper!"

rodrick was ecstatic, each moment on stage felt electric and he was having the time of his life. he was nervous at first to begin playing, but the moment ben's raspy voice began singing through the mic, his hands found their way to the drums and everything felt natural.

the crowd went wild and nothing made him feel happier than to see everybody enjoying their set. it all felt right to him, like there was no other place he'd rather be.

his eyes scanned through the crowd more, wanting to see each and everyone's reaction. it encouraged him to play and boosted up his confidence. it seemed like people were enjoying with the way they were clapping along to the beat and cheering them on.

and it made him feel even better seeing giselle standing sheepishly in the crowd. she watched the band with a big smile on her face. for a while rodrick was a little worried she wasn't gonna like their music, but he felt himself calm down upon seeing her cheer them on being the loudest among her friends.

they locked eyes for a brief second, rodrick feeling his heart flutter at the sight of her when she put her hand near her head and saluted towards him as if he were the captain.

at this point, the boy was overjoyed.

••••••••••••••••

when the night was over, the boys were more than happy that bill had decided to join the band. they had organized everything and he would be attending their next session.

the ride back to plainview was exciting since everyone was in a good mood. ben blasted out a bunch of upbeat tunes as everybody sang along, making life feel much better than it is. and in this moment, they were all okay.

and giselle loved that, she loved to see zara and ben so in love. she loved seeing quinn look so happy and she loved having rodrick around.

even jerry was starting to warm up to her.

she was upset when they'd finally reach quinn's home and the fun car ride had reached its end. that was the most fun she'd had in a long time and she was beginning to love her extended friend group.

they all hollered their goodbyes to one another, quinn being the first one to walk into the house. zara and ben were too occupied wrapped in each other's arms, planting sweet kisses on one another, causing jerry to grimace in disgust.

giselle chuckled at the sight as she started to walk towards the house, until someone called after her.

"giselle, wait up!" rodrick cut in, jogging to where she was.

he looked tired, bags and little smudges of eyeliner were under his eyes. it made him look even more like a 2000's emo boy and giselle felt like it suited him quite a lot.

"hey," she smiled as rodrick and her began to walk beside each other.

"thank you for coming tonight," he said, "i loved having you there."

"i'm glad i came, we have ben and zara to thank for that." she grinned. "and you guys did amazing."

he smiled sheepishly, not quite knowing how to react when his own crush complimented him. "aw, shucks. thanks." rodrick let out, wanting to bury his head in a bush by how stupid he sounded.

they both stopped by quinn's front door. both of them facing the other with a shy look plastered on their faces.

"well, i guess this is my stop." giselle chuckled. "obviously."

"yeah, well, uh, goodnight." he said, putting his hands into his pockets.

"goodnight." she replied. "it really was an amazing night."

"yes it was," he agreed, the tension beginning to feel a bit awkward. he never really knew how to act around her, considering he didn't want her to feel weirded out.

that's one thing rodrick noticed about her, each time they had the opportunity to really let their feelings out, giselle slowly shut down and he didn't blame her. he understood there were reasons why and the last thing he ever wanted was to push her away. rodrick was going to wait, he would wait until she'd feel okay.

"goodbye," she spoke up in a rush, surprising the boy when she reached up to him and put her arms around his neck in an embrace.

rodrick was flustered at her sudden actions but instantly found himself wrapping his arms around her waist, locking them both in a warm embrace.

they hugged each other tightly, as if this was the moment they'd been waiting for. rodrick loving the feeling of having her in an embrace, she meant everything to him at this point and there was nothing better than having her around.

it was true. giselle aoki had fully captured rodrick heffley's heart. and there was no turning back.

•••••

surprise! :)